Former school caretaker branded 'wicked' and jailed for 10 years for rape of young girl

A former school caretaker was branded a “wicked boy and adolescent” after being jailed for 10 years for sexually and physically abusing a young girl when he was a teenager.

Married father-of-two Donald Flood, now 59, of Arthington Lane, Pool-in-Wharfedale, Otley, physically assaulted the girl when she was aged five, but within two years the offences had escalated to rape and indecent assault. The incidents began with an assault in 1968.

A jury took five hours to deliver a guilty verdict to all 12 charges, consisting of five charges of rape, five of indecent assault and two of assault causing actual bodily harm at Bradford Crown Court today (Thursday).

Flood, who gave no reaction as he was sentenced, was also placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinately and all of the sentences will run concurrently.

The sex abuse took place in the city when Flood was aged between 14 and 19.

The woman, who went to police in 2011 and cannot be named for legal reasons, had claimed that Flood, a trainee butcher at Rawson Market in Bradford city centre at the time, had a carving knife with him during some of the assaults and had threatened to cut her throat if she told anyone.

The trial earlier heard some of the assaults were alleged to have happened in Peel Park, Bradford and on other occasions he tried to pay her to perform sex acts on him.

He was working as a caretaker at Pool CE Primary School when he was charged last year.

Giving his verdict, His Honour Judge David Hatton told Flood: “These offences were committed by a wicked boy and adolescent, an unhappy one. But one who did not grow into a wicked adult in the 40 years or so which have followed these events.

“These events have deeply affected your victim.

“Your victim has not recovered from these almost nightly events.

“I have to keep sharply in focus that these offences were not committed by a 59-year-old man as you now are. In these circumstances, the sentence must be significantly tempered and reduced accordingly.

“These events came to an end only once, it seems to me, when you found an alternative source for your evident frustration to be relieved. There was a substantial period of sexual abuse.

“Although you were very young when these offences began, as they progressed and your maturity grew, certainly towards the latter stages of these offences, you were at an age to know fully that what you were doing was wrong.

“You also knew the potential affect you were having on your young victim.”